Israel has said it will attack Hezbollah targets “vigorously”, as it continues to strike Lebanon despite the two countries’ ceasefire.
Israeli strikes killed 14 people in Lebanon yesterday, per the Lebanese health ministry. Israel’s military has told residents of seven villages north of the zone it occupies in southern Lebanon to evacuate.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement that he had ordered Israel’s military “to vigorously attack Hezbollah targets in Lebanon”, without further details.
“It must be understood that Hezbollah’s violations are, in practice, dismantling the ceasefire,” Netanyahu also said during a cabinet meeting yesterday.
According to Israel’s military, it struck loaded rocket launchers belonging to Hezbollah on Friday night. Hezbollah has called its attacks a “legitimate response to the enemy’s persistent violations of the ceasefire”, saying Israel had done so more than 500 times.
Lebanon and Israel agreed to a 10-day ceasefire on 16 April, with the U.S. later saying this would be extended by three weeks.
Israel has continued to occupy an area south of the Litani River in Lebanon during the ceasefire, and has told Lebanese residents in this zone to evacuate.
The terms of the ceasefire required both countries to recognise that Lebanon’s security forces have exclusive responsibility for Lebanon’s security, though it also said Israel had a right to self-defence “against planned, imminent, or ongoing attacks”.
